IL103629A - Insecticidal device - Google Patents

Description

103629/3 ο>ρ-ιη mowni? i nn Insecticidal device RONPAL LTD. n"va C:- 87750 INSECTICIDAL DEVICE FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention generally concerns a device useful in combating insects. More specifically, the present invention concerns such a device (hereinafter: "insecticidal device") in which a liquid comprising an insecticide, an insect attaching substance or a combination of the two, is diffused from the surface of a body of an absorbent material.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND PRIOR ART Controlling insects is a majo problem, both in household as well as in agriculture, horticulture and forestry. While conventionally control of insects is performed by spraying an area with an insecticide, such a form of control is very often undesirable due to its adverse ecological effects, as well as its hazardous consequence on the person carrying out the spraying.

In order to circumvent the ecological problems associated with spraying of insecticides, it has been proposed to use diffusers of a poisonous bate liquid. Such diffusers have an absorber body soaked with a liquid comprising an insect attracting agent such as a nutrient or a pheromone, and an insecticide. The insects which are attracted to the absorber body are poisoned and destroyed by the insecticide therein, either upon contact or upon ingestion. One of the major drawbacks of known insecticidal devices of the kind specified is that the absorber body has to be replenished by periodical spraying, which spraying again leads to ecological problems as well as to an acute danger for the person spraying, such an operation being also time consuming and not cost effective.

It is the object of the present invention to provide an improved insecticidal device.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided an insecticidal device comprising in combination: (i) a spherical body having top and bottom hemispheres, there being an external horizontal gap between the two hemispheres; the bottom hemisphere having a dish means portion adapted to contain a liquid; the dish means portion holding the bottom of a cylindrical diffuser body made of an absorbent material, a top portion of which is being exposed to the surrounding at said gap, whereby liquid contained in said dish portion is diffused to the surrounding by said diffuser body; (ii) a container means holding a liquid and adapted to controllably empty its content into said dish means portion the liquid comprising an insecticide, an insect attracting agent (e.g. a - - pheromone, ammonia and the like) or a combination of the two; and (iii) a panel of a color which attracts insects and being adapted to combine with said spherical body in a manner that they form together an essentially flat vertical panel having hemispherical bulges on both faces formed by said spherical body.

Said panel may be of a rigid or resilient material and will typically have a yellow color, as this color is known to be a very efficient attractor of insects. The color of the spherical body is preferably red, or a similar color, particularly where the device is intended to be used in combating fruit flies which are attracted to spherical objects of such a color.

The liquid held in the container will comprise an insecticide, an insect attracting agent (such as a pheromone, a nutrient, e.g. sugar or protein, and the like), or a combination thereof. The spherical body and the container will typically be made of an inert material such as various plastic materials.

The combination of colors and shape having insect attracting properties and a diffuser body which is being soaked with a liquid that both attracts insects and kills them upon contact, is highly efficient in combating insects in general and combating the fruit fly, which is a very problematic pest of fruits, in particular.

In order to increase efficiency in combating insects, the panel may, if desired, be covered by an insecticide, and/or by an adhesive substance which will cause any insect which comes into contact with the panel to adhere thereto.

By one embodiment of the present invention, said container is a flat body which may form part of the panel. By another embodiment, the panel is a flattened sleeve of a polymeric plastic material which envelopes a flat container. By a third embodiment, the container is integral with the top hemisphere.

The invention will now be further illustrated with reference to specific and non-limiting embodiments depicted in the annexed drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a fragmentary front cross-sectional view of a device according to the invention, in a non-operational state; Fig. 2 is a cross-section through lines 2-2 in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a front view of the liquid container of the device of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a cross-section through lines 4-4 in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a top view of a safety catch; Fig. 6 is a top view of the bottom hemisphere of the spherical body in the device of Fig. 1; Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view through lines 7-7 in Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view through lines 8-8 in Fig. 7; Fig. 9 is a top view of the top hemisphere of the spherical body in the device of Fig. 1; Fig. 10 is a cross section through lines 10-10 in Fig. 9; Fig. 11 is a side cross-sectional view of a spherical body and a liquid container in accordance with another embodiment of the invention; Fig. 12 shows a side cross-sectional view of the bottom hemisphere of the spherical body in accordance with an embodiment of the invention provided with a movable piercing device for piercing the discharge opening of the container; and Fig. 13 shows a side cross-sectional view of a spherical body according to a further embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF A SPECIFIC EMBODIMENT The device generally designated 10 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 comprises a spherical body 11, a liquid container 12 and a panel 13. From the reasons already pointed out above the panel has preferably a yellow color and the spherical body has a red or similar color. The container 12 shown in somewhat more details in Figs. 3 and 4, is made of a material which is inert to the liquids contained therein, and has an essentially rectangular flat shape. Container 12 is fitted at its top with hanging means 15. Container 12 has a neck portion 17 having an externally screw-threaded portion 19, a discharge opening 20 and an annular collar 21. The top of the neck portion is embraced by a safety catch 22 shown in Fig. 5, which prevents unintentional downward screwing which will pierce the discharge opening (see below). Prior to use, this safety catch has to be removed.

Panel 13 is typically a flattened sleeve of a polymeric film that envelopes container 12 and is integral with and extends from the top portion 22 of the container. Panel 13 has a weight rod 24 at its bottom, which serves to keep the bottom portion of the panel straight. Panel 13 has a hole in the middle having a diameter essentially the same as that of the circumferential vertical groove 49 of the spherical body (see below) and by slightly stretching the panel the hole boundaries may be fitted into groove 49, and these two members thus combine to form together an essentially flat panel with hemispherical bulges on both of its faces formed by the spherical body.

As can be seen, spherical body 11 has a bottom hemisphere 26 and a top hemisphere 27, separated from one another by an external peripheral gap 28. The neck portion 17 of container 12 fits through an opening 30 in top hemisphere 27 and rests into a dish means 31 in the bottom hemisphere.

Reference is now being made to Figs. 6 to 8 showing the bottom hemisphere in somewhat more details. Bottom hemisphere 26 has a dish means 31 consisting of a central hub 32, radial ducts 33 and a circumferential trough 34. Hub 32 has an internal screw-thread 36 adapted to cooperate with the external screw-thread 19 of neck portion 17 of the container. At the center of the hub there is a piercer 38 which is adapted to pierce a membrane such as a metal foil or the like (not shown) at the discharge opening 20 of the container once the two are engaged. Trough 34 is defined between a skirt 40 and an internal cylindrical wall 41, and holds a cylindrical diffuser body 42 (absent for the sake of clarity from Fig. 6). Cylindrical diffuser body 42 rests on support bulges 45 which project from the skirt 40 leaving a clearance to allow free flow of liquid throughout the entire circumferential trough 34.

When the neck portion 17 of the container and the hub 32 are engaged, discharge opening 20 of container 12 is pierced open by the piercer 38, and then the insecticidal liquid contained therein is discharged into hub 32, and from these flow through ducts 33 and into liquid trough 34. Hub 32 is provided with stop means 43 which ensure that there will always be a clearance between the bottom surface of the hub and the lips of the discharge opening to ensure free flow of the liquid into ducts 33.

When trough 34 is filled with the insecticidal liquid, cylindrical diffuser body 42 becomes essentially uniformly soaked with the liquid and can diffuse it through gap 28 in the spherical body. Gap 28 allows insects to enter and upon contact with diffuser body 42 and/or ingestion of the insecticidal liquid thus perish.

Bottom hemisphere 26 is further provided with two lateral circumferential projections 47 and 48 which define between them a circumferential vertical groove 49.

Attention is now being directed to Figs. 9 and 10 showing the upper hemisphere 27 of the spherical body 11. Hemisphere 27 has an opening 30 which is adapted, as already mentioned above, to receive the neck portion of container 12. The diameter of this opening is less than the external diameter of annular collar 21 of the container and as a result, when the container is fully screwed to the hub in the lower hemisphere (see above) the upper hemisphere 27 is tightly held between annular collar 21 and the lower hemisphere.

Hemisphere 27 has a downward cylindrical projection 51 which is of a slightly smaller diameter than cylindrical wall 41 and consequently when the two hemispheres are assembled together it juxtaposes cylindrical wall 41 from inside.

The diameter of the projection 51 ans wall 41 may be adjusted so that when the two hemispheres are pressed against one another they come into tight contact and thus hold the two hemispheres together.

Hemisphere 27 has further a circumferential vertical groove 53 which when assembled with hemisphere 26 is in register with groove 49 in hemisphere 26. The registrability of the two grooves is ensured by means of cut-out 55 which fit on the outside walls of ducts 33.

As can be seen in Figs. 1 and 2, hemisphere 27 is slightly larger than hemisphere 26 and as a result, hemisphere 27 shades the diffuser body 42. This shading avoids excessive evaporation of the insecticidal liquid which may be caused by direct solar radiation, and prevents washing away of the insecticidal liquid by rain.

As already pointed out above, the spherical body is typically red and the panel is typically yellow. The combination of these two colors and the spherical shape of said spherical body are attractants of insects in general and fruit flies in particular, which feature thus improves the insecticidal activity of the device.

Fig. 11 shows a slight modification from the embodiment of Fig. 1-10. In accordance with this embodiment, the bottom surface 61 of hub 62 is essentially flat and serves for sealing the discharge opening of the container by tightly screwing the lips of the discharge opening of the container against this surface. By slightly unscrewing the container a gap is formed between the discharge opening and the surface 61 and liquid is released in a similar manner as that described in the embodiment of Figs. 1- 10.

In order to ensure that the bottle is not excessively unscrewed, opening 63 in the upper hemisphere 64 is provided with stop means 65 which cooperate with collar 66 on the neck portion of the container for that purpose.

A device in accordance with this embodiment will usually be disposable as containers cannot be replaced.

Attention is now being made to Fig. 12 showing another embodiment of a spherical body, of which only the lower hemisphere 70 is shown. The lower hemisphere has a movable piercing means 71 consisting of piston 72 and a piercer 73. Movable piercing means are guarded against unintentional piercing by means of safety catch 74 which can be broken along a break line 75 upon the application of pressure. When the pressure is applied, piercing means 71 are elevated, as shown by dotted lines 76 and consequently the discharge opening of the container is pierced open. The liquid can then flow out of the discharge opening and into the liquid holding means, in a similar manner to that described in connection with the embodiment of Figs. 1-10. Piston 72 in its upper position is pressed against the surrounding cylindrical walls 77 whereby downward leakage of insecticidal liquid is avoided.

Attention is now directed to Fig. 13 showing a spherical body 80 in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention.

The spherical body 80 has a top hemisphere 81 which serves as a container of the insecticidal liquid. Hemisphere 81 has a neck portion 82 which is screw engaged into hub 83 of the bottom hemisphere 84. By tightly screwing the two hemispheres against one another the discharge opening 85 is sealed and by slightly unscrewing, the discharge opening is opened. Here, also, it is possible to use a movable piercing means similar or different to those shown in Fig. 12. 103629/3

Claims (9)

1. An insecticidal device comprising in combination: (i) a spherical body having top and bottom hemispheres, there being an external horizontal gap between the two hemispheres; the bottom hemisphere having a dish means portion adapted to contain a liquid; the dish means portion holding the bottom of a cylindrical diffuser body made of an absorbent material, a top portion of which is being exposed to the surrounding at said gap, whereby liquid contained in said dish portion is diffused to the surrounding by said diffuser body; (ii) a container means holding a liquid and adapted to controllably empty its content into said dish means portion the liquid carprising an insecticide and an insect attracting agent; ;and (iii) a panel of a color which attracts insects and being adapted to combine with said spherical body in a manner that they form together an essentially flat vertical panel having hemispherical bulges on both faces formed by said spherical body.

2. A device according to Claim 1, wherein panel comprises a hole which fits into a vertical groove in the spherical body.

3. A device according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the color of the panel is yellow.

4. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the color of the spherical body is red or a similar color.

5. A device according to any one of the precedings claims, wherein the container is a flat body forming part of the panel. - 11 - 103629 - 2

6. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the panel is a flattened sleeve of a film material which envelopes a flat container.

7. A device according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the container forms an integral part of the top hemisphere.

8. A device according to Claim 1, further comprising integral piercing means for piercing a discharge opening of said container.

9. A device according to Claim 8, comprising piercing means movable between a first safe position and a second piercing position in which said means pierce open the discharge opening of the container. 7750SPC/DD IC/be/l.12.1992